A Love That Jumps

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis is one of my all-time favorite writers. If you haven’t read Mere Christianity, I would urge you to do so soon. Lewis’ writing is pithy, genuine, and accessible—with a great sense of humor, he writes profound truths that can be simply understood. The quote above cites one: temptation is hard, and everyone is tempted. Oftentimes, we as Christians believe we can remain above temptation, avoiding it altogether. If you read my last post on temptation, you remember that this is just…well…impossible. Not even Joseph, a man of sure faith and steadfast obedience, could evade temptation altogether (though he tried valiantly!). We will all face temptation. If we know ourselves, and if we’ve lived long enough to be tempted (ok, this is everyone), we also know that many times, we succumb to the temptation before us. Matthew 26:41 warns us not to put too much confidence in ourselves, reminding us that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I don’t write this to discourage attempts to flee temptation (this is our first line of defense!) or to squash spiritual morale. On the contrary, I write to encourage. When you are tempted, you are not alone! This is our common condition, a battle we all share. The enemy loves to make us feel isolated, cut off from the army of believers of which we are a part. The tempter even has the nerve to try to make us forget that we serve the One who has overcome the world (John 16:33)!

Lewis writes, “The main thing we learn from a serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues is that we fail.” (MC 142). So…then what? I’ve talked a lot about temptation, but today I’d really like to focus on what happens after we sin. Often when we sin—especially if we struggle with the same sin over and over—it is easy to feel overwhelmed by our guilt to the point of inaction. We think: “it is too much,” “I have sinned one too many times”…and so we sit in our own shame, discouraged, defeated, and even more vulnerable to the next temptation to come our way. This period of discouragement is a hazard to our souls. The danger is that the sitting will become settling, and we will accept our defeat by sin as the status quo, an inevitable condition with which we must learn to cope. We are in danger of forgetting that, though we cannot make one right move in our own strength, Christ empowers us to move forward in righteousness.

Let’s look to Peter, the disciple who was called “the Rock” of the church by our Lord Himself. Peter had his share of temptation, and was no stranger to sin. Having just proclaimed his willingness to die for Jesus (John 13:37), after Christ’s arrest, Peter repeatedly disavowed all connection to the Lord. When I catch myself judging Peter harshly for his actions, I remember with shame how often I, too, have denied Christ. Fast forward to after the crucifixion. The disciples are fishing in the Sea of Galilee, when a man on shore calls to them. They recognize the man as Jesus, and almost before the observation is shared, the boat rocks as a body hits the water with a splash. It is Peter, frantically swimming towards shore.

“As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.”

(John 21:7)

We must wonder what had been happening within Peter since the moment of his sin. Whatever happened, we know that Peter was desperate, even frantic to be in the presence of the Lord. Peter didn’t care what it took to get to shore. The moment he saw an opportunity to be in the presence of the Father, he jumped. A shamed and broken sinner, Peter knew that the only thing to do after sinning against the Lord was to throw himself at the feet and on the mercy of the same Lord of Love. When we sin, we must not sit, but like Peter, jump into the water in a desperate attempt to get back to Jesus!

“…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)